Promise
by kakashifan9
Summary: Hizashi and Shouta are about to graduate from UA. Hizashi has an opportunity to start his career overseas, which leaves Shouta feeling insecure. Hizashi provides reassurance in the only way he knows how to help ease Shouta's fears. Sequel for "Courting".


It was a week away from their high school graduation. After a mix of failures, victories, and what seemed like an endless amount of sweat and tears, Shouta was preparing to graduate and start his career as a pro underground hero. It was an amazing feeling to take his first big step after three long years of intense training and learning (ridiculous) hero etiquette. He was most definitely not going to miss taking dance lessons to dazzle his nonexistent crowd of fans. He also was not going to miss the school festivals, especially the one where the class forced him to play sleeping beauty since his classmate had somehow gotten food poisoning an hour before the performance.

He was going to be free of all the extraneous crap. It was exciting and very much welcomed. But there was one thing he was going to miss.

_Hizashi._

The two had been attached to the hip since they were eight and had even started dating during their first year in high school. Hizashi was also the one who made all the extra stuff about UA enjoyable. Dance lessons were a drag, but if they hadn't happened, he would have never been able to ballroom dance with his boyfriend gently holding his hands and patiently guiding him with each step. Playing sleeping beauty was a disaster, especially since he didn't know any of his lines, but it was also where he shared his first kiss with Hizashi. (Reflecting on that, Shouta theorized that Nemuri had fed the lead classmate spoiled takoyaki to help push their relationship along since according to her, it was extremely lame that they had only been holding hands for the three months that they had been dating.)

To make matters more difficult, Hizashi had been invited to study abroad in America to start his hero career at a company that had a partnership with All Might's hero agency. When Hizashi had received the letter of acceptance, he had screamed something incoherent in English, nearly fainting from hyperventilating if Shouta had not been there to quite _literally_ smack some sense into him.

Shouta was a logical man. It was something he prided himself in, but for some reason every time he pictured Hizashi working in America, it would involve him being surrounded by adoring fans. His hero career would take off and he'd most likely be swamped with work. He would be attending countless parties to network himself, meeting brand new heroes who would undoubtedly be as equally flashy and charming. He'd be starting a new life that he had dreamed of for so long.

A new life that wouldn't involve Shouta.

These were the thoughts Shouta was constantly wrestling with, most recently while sitting on Hizashi's bed while listening to him ramble about different cereal brands in America. Shouta absently nodded, trying to find comfort in stroking Oreo's soft fur as the cat laid sprawled out on his lap.

"How cool would it be if I ended up writing a jingle for one of their commercials though?!" Hizashi laughed, staring at the Toucan bird that was holding a bowl of colorful fruit loops on his laptop screen. "But America's so strange. Milk in a bowl with cereal, how unorthodox…"

Shouta hummed in response, only half listening as his eyebrows furrowed in slight annoyance. He was happy that Hizashi had been scouted by such a famous company in America to start his hero work, but he couldn't push away the irrational jealousy and resentment building in his stomach, especially at the concept of cereal of all things.

"Hey, are you alright?" Hizashi finally asked, throwing one arm along the edge of his bed as he shifted to glance at Shouta.

"Just peachy," Shouta muttered, throwing his face into Oreo's stomach to find security in the cat's soft fur. At least his other best friend wouldn't be going to America, he bitterly thought.

But then again without Hizashi around, Shouta wouldn't necessarily have an excuse to come over to his house anymore. That meant he wouldn't be able to visit Oreo while he was in America either.

Shouta had never hated a country more than at that very moment.

"Shouta," Hizashi sighed, placing his laptop on the floor as he climbed into bed to take a seat next to his boyfriend. "You're been extra grumpy for the past few weeks. Something's obviously bothering you. What's wrong?"

Shouta remained silent. A part of him was hoping that he would sink into Oreo's black fur instead of facing Hizashi with his pitiful insecurities.

He heard Hizashi release a dramatic huff, leaning against his shoulder heavily.

"Was it something I did?"

He received a non-committal grunt in response.

"So it is me," Hizashi lamented, crossing his arms as he stared at the ceiling, going through a mental list of things that he could have done to annoy his boyfriend. (It was a very long list unfortunately…)

"Leave it alone," Shouta mumbled, pulling Oreo closer to his chest as the cat rubbed its face against his black shirt. "It's nothing."

"Our relationship will not be built on lies," Hizashi jokingly teased, pouting his lip as he went through the events of the week. "Was it because I ate your last pudding cup? Or maybe because I forgot that it was Oreo's birthday two weeks ago?"

"No."

"Was it because I spilled coffee on your desk? Or are you upset that I didn't win that cat gatcha toy for you?"

"Do you really think I'm that petty?" Shouta sighed, eye twitching in irritation.

"That's a trick question. I'm not answering that," Hizashi stuck out his tongue and crossed his arms in an "X".

"But come on, something is obviously bothering you. Please tell me?" Hizashi whined.

Shouta glanced at his boyfriend's honest green eyes peering through his tinted sunglasses, one of his few weaknesses. Letting out a soft "tsk", the erasure hero angrily focused his gaze to the image of colorful cereal displayed on Hizashi's laptop. He could feel a small blush threatening to blossom on his pale cheeks.

"You can't laugh if I tell you," Shouta hesitated, biting his lower lip as he suddenly felt enough adrenaline running through his veins to finish a ten-mile marathon in under twenty minutes.

"Hey, you know I wouldn't do that to you," Hizashi softly said, placing his hand on top of Shouta's to give it a gentle squeeze. "What's going on?"

The feeling of Hizashi's hand somehow felt grounding in contrast to how his stomach was flipping from agitation.

"I… I'm glad that you're going to America. I know it's something that you've been wanting to do since starting your first internship two years ago," Shouta carefully said, shoulders tensing in apprehension. "But I'm also… afraid."

Shouta paused, feeling as vulnerable as the day he lost his match on live television during the semi-finals of the sports festival in his first year, hot tears burning the cuts on his face as he silently cried in frustration. The soft reassuring squeeze of Hizashi's hand on his own quietly urged him to continue.

"When you go to America, you'll fit right in and meet new people."

_People far more interesting than me._

"One year of studying abroad will turn into two. Then it'll turn to three and then four… until you decide to stay there permanently."

_And then I'd never see you again._

"We'll talk on the phone every day, but then you'll become so busy that it'll become once a week. Soon we'll only be writing letters to each other until that stops, too." Shouta hid behind his bangs, gritting his teeth as he felt his ears burning red from the confession of his baseless trepidations.

_You won't have time for me anymore._

"You'll probably find someone else to go out with and start a whole new life in America."

_And I won't have a place in it anymore._

Shouta was pulled out of his thoughts as Hizashi dragged him into a bone crushing hug. The cat in his lap meowed in surprise, quickly wiggling its way out between the two of them. Shouta released a shaky breath, blinking away tears that he hadn't realized were forming from the corner of his eyes.

"Is that what you've been worried about?! About me – America … going there and… _replacing_ you?!" Hizashi incoherently said.

Shouta buried his face into the crook of Hizashi's shoulder, wordlessly gripping the back of his shirt to sink further into the embrace. God, he felt so pathetic and embarrassed… and so very small at that moment.

"Even though I'm excited to study abroad, I could never imagine myself starting a life outside of Japan, much less with a stranger and away from you," Hizashi softly said, stealing a kiss on Shouta's cheek in hopes of comforting his distraught boyfriend. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, stupid. Plus, Present Mic is a gentleman, I have you know. He's not going to cheat on you overseas."

Shouta huffed, rubbing his eyes as he averted his gaze away from Hizashi. He felt him rest his forehead against his own, his green eyes silently promising him that his fears were truly irrational and would never prove fruitful.

Hizashi wasn't that type of guy. Shouta wouldn't have stuck by his side for over half his life if he hadn't known this. And even though his fears felt unreasonable and surreal, they were still a constant growing source of anxiety, haunting him as graduation grew closer with each day.

"What can I do to make you believe me?" Hizashi whispered, holding Shouta's hands in his own to rub soothing circles with his thumb against them.

Shouta shook his head and shrugged, his gaze still not meeting Hizashi's.

The two sat in silence for what felt like an eternity to Shouta. No words were exchanged as Hizashi gently held his hands, tracing the various scars decorating them from their three years of hero training. He appeared lost in thought, contemplating something as he interlaced their fingers.

Taking a deep breath, Hizashi hesitantly released Shouta's hand. He stalked over to his closet, rummaging through it until finally pulling out a large storage box. Shouta raised an eyebrow at the contents as it seemed to be filled with various books and old toys they had played with as kids. Hizashi eventually pulled something out, his eyes lighting up as he found a small box.

He returned to Shouta's side, far more tense than before.

"Hizashi?" Shouta whispered, confused by the sudden change in mood from his usually boisterous boyfriend.

"Don't freak out, okay, Shouta?" Hizashi muttered. He opened the box and inside was a simple silver band attached to a plain necklace.

Shouta gaped as Hizashi shakily placed the jewelry into the palm of his hand.

"I wasn't going to do anything like this until I came back from America after, you know, getting a proper ring and maybe a huge bouquet of flowers or something, but I guess I have to do it now," Hizashi breathed, his face turning bright red. "Look, I know this is a collectible piece of jewelry from Kamen Rider, but it's the only thing I have right now so go easy on me, okay?"

"Wh- what's going on?" Shouta stammered, his heart beating hard against his chest as he stared at the ring.

"I don't know if this is enough to put you at ease, but maybe if we, you know… got engaged, then I'd definitely come back to Japan?" Hizashi squeaked. His face was as red as a tomato. It almost seemed like steam would come out of his ears at any second.

Shouta was speechless and mildly confused, somehow not sure if he was reading the situation correctly even though he knew _exactly _what was happening.

"_**Aaaaarrgh!"**_ Hizashi groaned, rubbing his hands through his hair until finally firmly grasping Shouta's hands once more.

"Aizawa Shouta, will you please marry me?!" Hizashi nearly yelled, his green eyes burning into Shouta's gaping black ones.

Shouta felt like hiding under the covers as his blush turned into a dark crimson. His quirk activated from reflex at the sudden proposal, eyes flashing red and hair floating for a split second at the unexpected turn of events.

"I mean, we won't get married _right now_. But, you know, this would be a promise to come back to you so that we can actually… get… married… and stuff," Hizashi trailed off, grasping the hands in his hold a little tighter. "I don't know how else to convince you, but I promise when I come back, I'll have a flashier proposal, okay?"

Shouta blinked in astonishment, a small smile slowly appearing across his face. His apprehensive features finally softened as he scoffed at the idea.

"You promise?" Shouta whispered, his mouth forming a thin line as he carefully met his boyfriend… no, his _fiancé's_ gaze.

"Ye- YEAH! OF COURSE!" Hizashi squeaked, vigorously nodding his head. He fumbled with the chain, clumsily spending ten minutes trying to loop it around Shouta's neck.

After finally securing it, Shouta tenderly held the ring between his fingers, the gentle smile on his face remaining as he stared at Hizashi's dopey grin. He slowly leaned in, gently placing a kiss on his lips.

"Giving me a toy ring is very fitting for you," Shouta said as he pulled away, too content to really be annoyed at the voice hero.

"Hey, I already promised you that I'd do it properly next time! Cut me some slack!" Hizashi laughed, sniffing as he used the palms of his hands to sloppily rub away tears from his eyes. He leaned back in to steal another kiss, deepening it slightly as he held Shouta closer to his chest. As he reluctantly pulled away, he rested his forehead against his, grinning from ear to ear once more.

"I'll be back before you know it, Shouta," Hizashi muttered. "I promise."

Shouta nodded. The silver band around his neck managed to help calm the feeling of apprehension he had been harboring for the past few weeks.

The promise meant that he would be spending the rest of his life with Hizashi.

He wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
